Coffee has been the notorious drink of hard working folks who have struggled to fully wake up in the morning. We all know this. What you may not know is that caffeinated coffee can have many negative effects on your overall health. Of course, if you drink in moderation or as an occasional treat, you will not likely experience any long term negative effects (if any at all!). I personally have made the complete switch to coffee substitutes as a favorable alternative to coffee because of the negative impact caffeine addiction was having on my mind and body for many years. I realized this especially on days when I would have headaches and feel jittery when I didn't have a cup or two. I grew to learn about the consequences of this type of "unspoken" addiction, and knew that I had to quit the drink for good.

Of course, as with many things in life, quitting was a struggle at times. I initially worked to lower the amount of coffee I drank each day, but eventually found that if I would drink 1 cup of coffee, it would lead to a slippery slope of wanting to drink more!

This experience is fundamentally the nature of addiction - to have this craving that is difficult to suppress without caving into the demand of your body. The decision to quit completely has positively impacted my health as was made in conjunction with my movement towards a plant-based, plant-smart diet.

Since I have been drinking coffee substitutes regularly, I thought I would share with you 4 great coffee alternatives you may have never heard about before and would like to try. These are, of course, products I have used and wouldn't recommend without enjoying the taste and getting some pleasure out of them.

My 4 Favorite Coffee Substitutes!

Dandy Blend - a self described "healthy herbal coffee substitute," I absolutely had to try Dandy Blend. Sure enough, I found it to taste very good and be quite aligned with the plant based lifestyle. The flavor of this coffee alternative is derived from roasted roots of dandelion, chicory, beets and the grains of barley and rye. There are no additional ingredients or additives. The Dandy Blend website is filled with useful information about their product. Most surprisingly to me is how upfront the company is about what it includes (and does not include), as well as a posted image of the Nutrition Facts label for quick reference. If you are someone skeptical about coffee alternatives, you may be glad to know that the cost is very much comparable (if not at teams cheaper than) the coffee you are already used to in the morning. Their website offers the ability to purchase Dandy Blend samples for 1$ if your hesitant to invest your money without being able to taste beforehand. If looking to purchase a full size package, note that there are quite a few size options available. Please feel free to use the Amazon links below if you are interested in purchasing online:

Pero - A very simple herbal coffee substitute is this simply packaged barley, malted barley, chicory, and rye infused option. This comes in a jar similar to how you would purchase scoopable iced tea, lemonade, or oatmeal. I have tried this and enjoyed the taste, and it would appear many people online agree with me as it is very highly reviewed on Amazon and other digital outlets with a 5 Star Rating after 350+ people have reviewed the product. Pretty amazing if you ask me, and well worth trying!

Teeccino - a major area of appeal that Teeccino works to help resolve for this former coffee lover is in it's variety. If you didn't notice the product tag indicating this to be a "herbal coffee alternative," you may have mistakenly purchased one of these products because of how significantly the packaging looks like a coffee product. This is, of course, intentional and meant to help drive sales, but in a way has psychologically helped me take the next step towards drinking coffee substitutes. The way I think of it is like this: while in the grocery store when I thought to myself, "I need to pick up some coffee," I would immediately have thoughts of the appearance of a Folger's can. There is this immediate, intrinsic connection between the brand and product appearance and the actual purchase we are making. Just a few of the options can be viewed from the links below:

Cafix - A classic instance of where looks can be deceiving. Admittedly, the packaging for Cafix coffee substitute is not the most exciting in the world, but it's what is on the inside that matters, right? Only four ingredients are used: roasted barley, rye, chicory, and sugar beets. One 7oz jar, which costs ~$10 dollars, makes around 100 cups of this coffee substitute. If you ask me, that is reason enough to give this a try as I can't think of many instances where $10 dollars of coffee would last nearly as long.

There are many more coffee substitute options available on the market. I believe we are only starting to scratch the surface. These 4 coffee alternatives have been great "friends" to me each morning, and give me reason to stand back and reflect on the positive changes I have made in my life by ditching caffeinated and acidic coffee in exchange for something a little more in line with my plant smart diet. My body and mind thank me for it on a daily basis as I still feel energized and awake as I tend to my garden and contracting business.

I hope this article has been useful for you. The video attached to the top will hopefully give you some more personal insight into these products, and more explanation regarding why I made the change from coffee to coffee substitutes. If you have made the change already or are thinking about doing so, please leave a comment below. I'd love to hear from you!